Helping those less fortunate, what is our obligation?
This is
something I personally struggle with a lot.
"If you're walking in expensive clothing and see a child drowning, do you
jump in to save the child knowing that your clothing will be ruined?" Most
people would ruin the clothing and save the child.
But this is the very
situation we are in every day. If I buy anything other than the bare
necessities, am I guilty because I am not spending that money on food or
medicine that could save someone's life?
So to return to the initial
dilemma, if you were walking and there were infinitely many children
drowning and waiting for you to save them, when would you stop? Would you
just keep doing it?
Am I a bad person if I prefer to go to movies and
play computer games instead of using that money to help starving children?
You are a member of a flawed community. To focus blame on the individual
is to ignore social and cultural context, and to expect one to be ascetic in
a consumer society is wrong. You would live in relative poverty, and
probably suffer as a result.
Therefore the onus is us to organise
group action and cultural transformation, where we can go without some of
our luxuries yet still have a worthwhile life, one which does not leave one
languishing as an outsider.
This would involve valuing and creating
an environment where free or inexpensive happiness can flourish, so that we
can save and give, but not to our social and psychological detriment.
I find it more useful to phrase the question in more positive terms:
Would spending money on food or medicine that could save someone's life help
me live a more fulfilled life? Am I missing out on this opportunity by
spending money on movies and computer games instead?
My answer to the
question is one of balance. I'm not prepared to eliminate entertainment in
the form of movies and computer games.
They are fun and help me
unwind. However, in most cases, dispensing with luxuries in favour of making
a positive difference in the lives of other people definitely adds value to
my life.
So to return to the initial dilemma, if you were walking and there were
infinitely many children drowning and waiting for you to save them, when
would you stop? Would you just keep doing it?
I would stop once it
stopped adding value to my life. This happened a few years ago, prompting me
to look for a more effective way to help them.
This may not answer your question, but I see the drowning child analogy
as flawed.
If I am walking along the riverbank and see a drowning
child, then I am the only person who can save him. Thus the obligation falls
upon me. Now certainly there are people suffering or dying all over the
world - but why does the obligation to help them, or any particular one of
them, fall on me and not you, or someone else?